I just left the following comment on the McCain vs. Obama VP forum. I’d like to hear what you think about it, but I’ve closed comments on this post and am encouraging you to leave comments on the original VP post instead.

And the winner is … Joe Biden!

You were right Rutkowski. (And so was I, after I changed my pick once.)

I’d be curious to hear what people think about this choice. I know people have said that Biden contradicts Obama’s message of change, but I disagree. A person who really wants change hopefully will be tempered somewhat by someone like Biden anyway. I think Obama’s choice reflects good judgment, and he has truly picked the best person, even if it is not the most popular pick or will best help him win the election.

On the GOP side, rumor has it that Romney may be the one … Though I think it still may be Tim Pawlenty. I sure hope it’s not Romney, if for no other reason than it will give a whole lot of Mormons an excuse to not be critical about who to vote for this November. I know, I’m sure there are Mormons who really did want Romney irrespective of his being LDS — but his overwhelming support (financial and primary vote) in Utah suggests that he was a knee-jerk pick for a lot of uncritical Latter-day Saints. I’m afraid the same will happen if Romney is VP. I also worry what a Romney VP (whether McCain wins or not) will communicate about the Church. He’s been quite an uncharitable bully towards Obama, and I wonder if this demeanor is what we want our most visible public representative communicating to the world (especially considering that most of our converts are likely to come from more liberal or moderate quarters in the U.S.–think big cities). But I’m focusing on the negative — surely there would be some positive.

Email a friend